Modern hearing assistance devices, such as hearing aids, typically include digital electronics to enhance the wearer's listening experience. Hearing aids are electronic instruments worn in or around the ear that compensate for hearing losses by specially amplifying sound. Hearing aids use transducer and electro-mechanical components which are connected via wires to the hearing aid circuitry.
Components in a hearing aid require some amount of electrical power to function as desired. Usually, a battery is used to provide power to all of the components in a hearing aid. The size and weight of the battery can be a limiting factor in the overall design of the hearing aid. In addition, the battery typically has a finite life expectancy, requiring frequent recharging or replacement and disposal.
Some hearing assistance devices are capable of operation with more than one type of battery. Batteries with different chemistries can have different charging and discharging voltage characteristics. These different voltage characteristics can affect hearing assistance device performance, as some hearing assistance device functions are based on the provided input voltage from the battery. What is needed in the art is an improved system for battery detection and corresponding device reconfiguration for hearing assistance devices, to provide consistent device performance while accepting multiple types of batteries.